Isn’t this kind of irrelevant prejudicial “testimony” grounds for dismissal?
Potentially. However, this judge appears to have skin in the game so I would be shocked if he would ever rule in favor of the defendant.
I've done many,many criminal cases from homicide, to white collar crime, to RICO drug cases. In this particular case, I've read and reread the indictment and “supporting” Statement of Facts. I sincerely don't see a crime here. This is one of those crime on top of a crime cases. The prosecution failed to articulate what the other crime (other than the business record entries) is. As for the business records, the claim that legal expenses is criminal is tenuous at best. The entries refer to a NDA, a legal contract. It sort of sounds like a bookkeeper could have thought that the payments were legal expenses. Honestly, I can't figure out this legally and factually untenable case other than it being a political persecution.